March 29, 2004

Lars Van Trier's Dogville has caused a good amount of ruckus in the film world. Some critics are reduced to hissing, screaming expletives, and giving the screen "the bird" at screenings of the film. Greencine Daily notes that a critic from the Slate, David Edelstien really hated the film. He ends the article on this note:

The pugnacious critic Armond White, whose dudgeon in this instance seems just, points out that von Trier condescends to the artists he rips off—Dreyer in Breaking the Waves, Fellini in Dancer in the Dark, and here Thornton Wilder, whose Our Town metamorphoses into a Shirley Jackson American Gothic before our eyes. (This is a crime against both Wilder, whose play remains a vivid and moving collision of American optimism with the fact of death, and Jackson, who in her novels captures a species of inbred American repression as well as anyone.) Von Trier really gives us Yanks the big middle finger in the credit sequence, which presents photos of real American poverty, hopelessness, and desperation while David Bowie warbles the acidic "Young Americans." That was when I gave the movie the finger right back; I wanted to throw things at the screen. I'm sure Lars von Trier would regard me the way Col. Jessup regards the lieutenant in A Few Good Men—I can't handle the truth. But it's more like I can't handle selective half-truths by a preening, misanthropic bully who wouldn't recognize an act of decency if it bit him on the ass.
On the other hand, maybe von Trier is right that we Americans are dogs: His movies seem to call to me like fire hydrants.

Notice the backhanded comment suggesting that Lars Von Trier's vision is a filtered copy of great movie auteurs like Fellini and Dryer. Though I was looking forward to seeing it before, this scathing review makes me want to run out and see Dogville right this second knowing that it has pissed off so many people.
I already have a few films queued up for the next few weeks. Despite how busy my life is right now, I will attempt to see Good Bye Lenin and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind hopefully this week.

March 26, 2004

Last month I was fortunate enough to see Piccadilly, which was recently restored by the British Film Institute, at The Castro Theater. Piccadilly has gained a lot of attention primarily due to its star Anna May Wong, the forgotten but newly revived Hollywood icon.
The character she plays in Piccadilly is not unlike all the other characters she has played in Hollywood films. She plays Shosho, a Chinese dishwasher at a fancy London club, who proceeds to become the wealthy club owner's object of affection. With the help of Shosho's Chinese husband, she becomes a performer at the club. An affair develops between the club owner and Shosho, this leads to a series of events that lead to Shosho's demise and ultimately her death. In the end, she is punished for having an affair with a white man and for her sexual transgression. The film is lushly photographed and intricately designed. Lots of "Oriental" inspired costumes and decorations that match the big production values of Hollywood.

"Among a terrifying arsenal of guns, bullets and bombs, the FBI found a chemical cyanide bomb. Used in a shopping mall, a stadium or a subway, it could have killed thousands.

If that wasn't scary enough, it does get much scarier:

"More weapons were found at Krar and Bruey's secluded home in the pine woods that surround Tyler. Eventually the haul totalled 500,000 rounds of ammunition, more than 60 pipe bombs, other remote-controlled bombs disguised as brief cases, and dozens of machineguns, silencers, pistols, mines and explosives."

There goes "homeland" security. Note the comment that Mark Potok, the editor of The Intelligence Report,makes at the end of the article.

March 23, 2004

What Time Is It There?, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang's most recent feature, continues to explore isolation, the break-down of the family unit, and the longing for genuine human contact. His characters often perform mundane tasks, not always directly recognizable to the viewer, and resume their daily lives without speaking. Using minimal cuts, the camera lingers as we wait for things to unfold and usually it's never what we would expect. He forces us to decipher their actions for ourselves, taking in every painful, funny, or pathetic scene.
Purveyors and fans of cinema would easily find similarities between Tsai Ming-Liangs work and the French New Wave- particularly Truffaut and Bresson. In an interview published in Skrien, no.2 March 2002, he says:

"The European films of the Nouvelle Vague or the New German Cinema films were indeed very different. And they moved me enormously. I was moved just as much by the films of my childhood. But I think European films are closer to me because they are about modern life and ordinary, modern men. And I have the idea they are more realistic, true to life."

If you're looking for a straight forward narrative with substantial amounts of dialogue, this film will not deliver either.

March 21, 2004

You would think working at a bookstore (albeit part-time) would mean more time for reading. I have been so busy that books are starting to pile up at my bedside waiting for me to snap out of my snafu.
Here's a short list of the neglected:
1.Rereading Sex, Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz
I bought this a month ago after reading Tipping the Velvet. I wanted to learn more about Ninteeth-century sexual habits and desire. The author also contributed to Jane Sexes it Up: True Confessions of Feminist Desire.

"Although the work is very preliminary, it could someday be used in voice recognition systems and to help people communicate clearly in noisy environments -- from space stations to air traffic control towers. It could help people who have lost their ability to speak, or allow someone to chat with a colleague across a conference table without making a sound.

If, in fact, this technology progresses into what they say it will do, How could you prevent outside parties (besides the people who you are trying to communicate with) from picking up the signals? Although, this sounds pretty cool and innovative, How about if you thought of something and the nerve signals were picked up, then you decided that what you thought before was wrong?
Despite these questions, I would love the abilty to surf the Web without using my hands. Goodbye, carpal tunnel.

March 19, 2004

I've really missed out all these years, now I can say it, I finally saw Planet of the Apes. It had all the elements that make a good film - socio commentary (lot's of anti-war messages, deconstruction of racism, questioning violence, mocking authority, etc.), good special effects for 1968, and an exciting adventure plot. And to hear Charlton Heston's anti-war monologue in the beginning was worth it.
My question is, did Charlton Heston know what this film was trying to accomplish? or was it one of those "Don't tell him it's about two gay guys" kind of thing like Gore Vidal did for Ben-Hur.

" "Al Qaeda won the election," Vinocur quoted a former conservative member of the Spanish Parliament. "It's appeasement. The terrorists have gotten away with it."
Political veterans will recognize the technique. To make their muck, the smear-mongers lump together Al-Qaeda terrorists, "cowardly" Spanish voters, and ? when they can - "American appeasers" like me who applaud the new direction Spain appears to be taking. Think of their smear as the flip side of the bogus electioneering mantra, "A Vote Against Bush Is A Vote For Bin-Laden," which is the kind of blank check the Spanish voters wisely refused to endorse.

A majority of Spanish voters could have opted to stay home after such tragic events, but instead they used the power of democracy and voted in record numbers (75%). In other places this would be called Democracy, but here it's called "appeasement".

March 18, 2004

"In a morning meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Bremer warned the Iraqi leaders that they risked isolating themselves and their country if they continued to snub the United Nations. According to Iraqi and American officials, Mr. Bremer pointedly warned them of a "confrontation" with the United States if the Iraqis failed to invite the organization back.

As a fan of Francois Truffaut, I very much anticipated a box set of the Antione Doinel series from Criterion Collection. And that's what I got for my birthday, The Adventures of Antoine Doinel. Francois Truffaut's semi-autobiographical collection is a portrait of Antoine from adolescence to adult-hood. In 400 Blows, a juvenile delinquent, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud) navigates through a life with aloof parents, uncaring teachers, and petty crime. The second installment of the Antoine saga, Antoine and Colette is also included in the DVD. This time around he is living on his own and pursuing a love affair unsuccessfully. The third installment is Stolen Kisses. Antoine gets kicked out of the army and has to fend for himself. Perpetually love-struck, he is almost determined to get into trouble. In Bed and Board, the fourth installment, Antoine is married to Christine (Claude Jade). Once again, Antoine travails through married live, infidelity, and becoming an adult. The last installment, Love on the Run, Antoine has experienced relative success as a writer but, as always, love gets in the way. He still has some growing up to do.
Truffaut portrays this parallel life in bittersweet light. Antoine is certainly not perfect. He can be egotistical, illogical, flighty, and irresponsible, but he is still lovable. Imperfection, unpredictability, and passion make this homage to love a new wave treat.